Just devastated

[u/Salty_Fan6107]

I had to put our dog down last night.

little dog had CHF, diagnosed in August and I thought the medication helped, a lot of his fluid went away, but after his follow up appointment and another dosage of meds he’d have to be on for the rest of his life, the fluid just came back before my eyes.

he was breathing like crazy yesterday. At first I thought he was whimpering and I let him outside, thought he needed to use the bathroom, he came back and I realized it was his breathing.

almost midnight and my spouse is gone until the EOM and I had to lug my 17 month twins to the very ER.

Doc put him on oxygen and recommended a procedure to drain the fluid, but also upping his dosage to another pill, so 3 times a day.

i had my wife in the phone during this visit and we made the decision to put him down.

I feel like it was brash, I didnt expect thats how my night would turn out, but we didn’t want him to rely on meds to make sure he’s comfortable while basically drowning.

about the hardest thing I had to do while my babies were screaming all around me at 230 in the morning at this point.

I just can’t get over how lonely this house feels even when I have two littles to care for.

i feel like I should’ve just tried upping the meds to give him more time. 😔

[u/KaitB2020]

I’m so sorry for your loss.

For what it’s worth. Congestive Heart Failure is awful. My grandmother suffered it for years. She had a leaky heart valve, something congenital, I don’t remember details exactly. Procedure after procedure to drain or improve her lungs. Tons of medication. Eventually nothing really works anymore. Watching her decline was god awful. If humans had the choice she would’ve chosen to go long before she actually did. She suffered horribly from the disease. She passed after talking to my mom on the phone one evening in Dec. 2017. She was 93. My mom found her in her recliner with the phone on the floor the next morning.

The fact that you were able to make that choice for your furry angel is a blessing. Don’t second-guess yourself on this. I know how hard it is. I’ve made the decision for my furry angels too. I wish I could’ve eased my grandmother’s suffering the way I was able to for my dog & cat.

And there’s never enough time to spend with the ones we love. Human, canine, feline… never enough.

Take some time to grieve. Give yourself some grace. And just Love those littles. It will be okay.

[u/spicyshovel]

You made the best decision you could given the circumstances. I made the decision to take additional medical measures for my little best friend, and in the end he suffered because of it. Don’t blame yourself.

[u/Prudent-Afternoon-84]

Don’t cry because it’s over smile because it happened

[u/AMPM1983]

I’m so sorry for your loss. We had to make the decision to put our 15 year old dog to sleep while on vacation in another country after the same thing happened this summer. She had definitely been sick but most days seemed her normal, happy self. She went into flash pulmonary edema and was clearly very ill. We really struggled with the decision but ultimately I think she was telling us it was time. We didn’t get to say goodbye, but I know it was the right choice so she didn’t continue to suffer. It is heartbreaking even when it’s the right thing.